Various Artists

The Funky Precedent, Vol. 2

Despite having too many fucking instrumentals and being on some corny "save the music" tip, the first Funky Precedent record ...

Despite having too many fucking instrumentals and being on some corny "save the music" tip, the first Funky Precedent record was dope as hell. The best track Jurassic 5's ever done, Dilated People's still-amazing "Triple Optics," a shockingly enjoyable Ugly Duckling cut, and solid shit from Divine Styler, Acey, and Abstract Rude made for the greatest-ever underground comp out of L.A that didn't rock the Beat Junkies logo on the cover. So now it's all out with the second volume. The charity-jocking No Mayo label has sold out to Matador, inexplicably replacing all the big names of the first compilation with some mostly unheard-of cats they're hoping will blow up and make this move more units than Nelly (all for the schools!). Here's your track-by-track:

Skhool Yard: "Here We Come" - Better than it had to be, although these guys really shouldn't have let Protest out from behind the boards. Why do all new MCs sound like Planet Asia? Is it because he's just so nice?

Rasco: "Uncut" - It's not another "Unassisted" (what is?) but it's still nice in that Rasco bump-bump way. "Front page like I was George W. Bush." Fuck yeah.

Live Human: "Lagoona's Bliss (Elephant Mix)" - Yeah, I had this track on their album and it was okay, but I'm feeling this remix a lot more. DJ Logic, hold ya dome.

Azeem: "Contradictions" - Motherfuck Green Day, why do all the poetically inclined MCs always listen to worst white-people music? That said, the production on this isn't bad and the lyrics are passable. I like that tropic of cancer bit.

Zion I: "We Got It" - North Cali mix-show fodder, if he's lucky.

Foreign Legion: "Bike Thief" - Maybe I'm crazy, but this is dope. The pre-teen "steal shit" lyrics are cuter than Kris Kross and the beat makes me jump up and down. I like it.

Eye Cue and Rashinel: "Clear the Slate" - Mediocre until the beat changes up halfway through and then it's boom-bap brassy goodness like a nasty Pete Rock track. "Incredulous is incredible, and I'm awestruck/ Can't you tell because of the presence of dumb-fuck?" Um, yes?

Anticon: "Pity Party People" - Formula for massively pleasurable yet ultimately forgettable Anticon posse cut: put some De La on the intro, grab a shimmery loop out of big Anticon bag of circular guitar samples, have no mic skills, be white as fuck. And it's beautiful!

DJ Vinroc: "3thahardway" - Very possibly the least interesting scratch track to come out the bay area since "Drop the Weight," and that's saying something.

Stymie and the Pimp Jones Love Orchestra: "Fan Club" - Shit club.

Encore: "The Movement (Precedent Mix)" - Architect is an underrated producer but he's still just biting Primo circa Hard to Earn. It's hard to make jazz licks propel Encore's flow instead of riding under it, but somehow it works.

Kemetic Suns: "We a Warrior" - Promising opening lines about bucking down demons and vampires, but what a drab chorus. Silly suckas.

EB F: "Condiments" - If you can listen to this twice, you're on more West Coast dick than Mack 10.

Sahnuhtayshun Duhpartment Muzik f/Khaos Unique: "I'm K.U." - That's a bitch of a name but this really isn't bad, and Del guest-mumbles on it too (uncredited, of course). I bet this would sound nice on an O-Dub tape.

Pep Love: "Warrior Poet" - Least interesting Hiero member goes out and rips it! Tinkly keys and loping cello sound like the beats Mathematics gave GZA for that last album. Not bad, not bad at all.

So there you go. It won't get much love up in the clubs but there's a few cuts worth your half-hearted spin. If you can't cop the Rasco and Foreign Legion joints off Audiogalaxy then you might want to pick up the $5 promo now sitting at an indie used bin near you and dance around in your underwear til volume three drops, hopefully with no fake-ass funk and more of those hot singles that we know the left coast underground can do so well. It won't "plant the seeds for educating the next generation musically" (like Erick Arnold says in the self-important liner notes, bigging-up the rap game like the poor man's Chuck D). But we can leave that responsibility safe with ODB, can't we?